


Homecoming

by Magicath_420



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Short & Sweet, friends-to-lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magicath_420/pseuds/Magicath_420
Summary: Nate comes back to the Waverider after months of working at the Time Bureau.





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the 30 seconds of that Nixon episode in between Nate having a breakthrough with Hank, and Hank being murdered. It’s not super relevant but Hank’s alive, also (obviously) Nate doesn’t have a thing for Zari.

Nate walked down the hallway of the Waverider towards his old room, breathing in the familiar scent, and the feeling of the ship’s engine humming beneath his feet. Man, it was good to be home. He was glad that working at the Bureau had brought him closer to Hank- he really, genuinely was- but there was something irreplaceable about living with 8 adult superheroes who bickered about things like laundry schedules, dibs on the “good TV”, and the appropriate volume to play music at in the middle of the night (“How can you even _tell_ it’s the middle of the night, Sara? We literally live in a _time machine_.”)

Nate sighed with contentment when he walked into his room. Everything was exactly as he remembered it: Star Wars posters, Harry Potter books, mission souvenirs and all. He dropped his bag next to his bed, and was changing out of his black bureau suit when there was a knock at the door. 

“Just a second!” 

He threw on a T-shirt and opened the door. 

“Nate!” Ray tackled him in a hug, grinning ear to ear and practically knocking him down. Nate laughed and hugged him back, hard. Out of everything he had missed about the Waverider, Ray was, by far, his favorite.

“I have so much to tell you. But first, we were in 2025 last week, and the new Super Smash Bros is out. Spider-Man’s in it.”

“NO WAY.”

“Yes way.”

“How?”

“Disney bought Nintendo.”

“NO WAY.”

“Yes way.”

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

”No way.”

“I can do this all night, buddy. I used to be on Arrow; we practically invented repetition.”

Nate laughed and sat down next to Ray on his bed. While they played the new game, Ray caught Nate up on everything he’d missed while he was gone. Among other things, there’d been: life-or-death karaoke, literally; a food fight that had lasted three days; a Team Flash ship war, which had to be broken up by Barry himself when it got so intense that several different team members were manipulating and counter-manipulating the timeline to give themselves a better shot at winning; and a full week of the whole team living in a blanket fort on the bridge (although to be fair, the blanket fort had been personally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright). Nate’s heart ached for all the mischief he’d missed. It made him never want to leave his dumb, wonderful found family of dorks and overgrown children ever again.

After about an hour of getting his ass kicked, Nate threw down his controller dramatically and flung himself down so that he was lying face-up on his bed.

“It’s no use, dude. I’m never going to beat your freaky superhero reflexes.”

“You’re a superhero too, you know.”

“Am I?” Nate asked. “I’ve been sitting at a desk so long I feel much closer to a high schooler.” He was only half joking. The longer he was back, the longer it felt like he’d been away.

His best friend lay down next to him and frowned.

“How long has it been since you left? For you, I mean?”

“Six months.” 

“Jesus Christ.” Ray breathed. “It’s only been three for us, and even that...”

Ray trailed off, shaking his head. Nate turned his own head to face Ray. He noticed that his best friend’s hair had grown a little bit, so that it fell over his forehead and hit his eyelashes. Nate’s fingers itched to brush it back.

“Yeah, I know, buddy.” He sighed. “It’s good to be home.”

“It’s hasn’t felt like home around here since you left. Not really.”

Ray turned his head to face Nate, their noses now inches apart. Nate felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked into Ray’s eyes. For months, he’d been missing Ray, and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and the smell of his shampoo, and the pure sunshine that poured off of him. For months, he’d been daydreaming about coming home to him.

Nate smiled when the thought occurred to him. It wasn’t something he’d been dreaming about, but it wasn’t a new idea, either. Nate realized he wanted to kiss his best friend the way one realizes their hair has gotten long: not as if it was new information, but as if they had a new clarity that suddenly allowed them to see something they’d been missing, despite it being right in front of them all along.

Ray smiled back at him. Nate’s eyes fluttered to his lips. They were so close to each other, all Nate would have to do was lean in... /but how could I ever ask if that would be okay? How could I risk everything we have now for something that could go so badly? Nate thought.

And then Ray leaned forward and kissed him.

Nate’s whole body surged towards Ray in response, and he brought his hand up to cup Ray’s cheek as he kissed him back enthusiastically. Nate lifted himself up on his elbow, leaning over Ray and parting his lips as his tongue ghosted over Ray’s bottom lip. Ray sighed, wrapping his arms around Nate’s waist and pulling him closer. 

After a few seconds, they broke apart, breathless and laughing lightly. Nate pressed his forehead against Ray’s and nudged his nose with his own.

“Since when- how long have you...” Ray trailed off, unsure of how to ask the question.

“All along, I think.” Nate answered, knowing it was true as soon as he said it, but not a moment before. “You?”

“Since the day you left.”

“You could have told me.”

“Nah, you had a good thing going at the Time Bureau. You were finally working things out with your dad, I didn’t want to get in the way of that.”

Nate nodded a little bit without moving his head away from Ray’s. If it was up to him, they’d never move apart again.

“How _are_ things with your dad, by the way? I forgot to ask.”

“I so don’t want to talk about Hank right now, Ray.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

Nate laughed, and Ray kissed him again, harder this time. Nate lay back down, bringing the hand that had been supporting him up to comb through Ray’s hair. Ray propped himself up on his forearms, leaning over Nate from above, and deepened the kiss. Nate decided in that moment that he never, ever again wanted to do anything except kiss his best friend. 

Man, it was good to be home.


End file.
